The present invention relates to anesthesia devices.
Before the present invention, it has been a common practice to apply an anesthetic drug to the trachea of a patient prior to endotracheal intubation or bronchoscopy. There have been two procedures to accomplish this result. For a laryngotracheal procedure, a cannula is inserted down the throat into the trachea. Alternatively for a transtracheal procedure, a needle is passed through the anterior tracheal wall. The transtracheal procedure is undertaken when the laryngotracheal procedure cannot be accomplished, and some physicians have preferences between the two procedures. In the past, the two procedures have required different devices in order to carry out the separate procedures.